Promises, Promises
by A. Zap
Summary: "You promise?" "I promise." Catra had thought that this was the one promise that would never hurt her, that would never come and bite her. She was terribly wrong about that. Was it even worth it? Femslash February Day 17: Promises


"You look out for me and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

That was the first promise they ever made to each other.

Catra still remembered what it had felt like. She'd known what a promise was, but before that a promise had just been a guarantee of pain. This one though… This one had filled her heart with a warmth she'd never known before. As Adora had wrapped her arms around her, she'd actually felt safe. She'd thought that this would be the one promise that would never hurt her. That this promise would make anything she went through worth it.

As Catra watched it play out once more before her, she knew just how wrong she had been.

After all, while Catra had held onto this promise and kept it close, it was like Adora didn't even remember making it. It had been important to Catra, but apparently not to her.

They'd had other promises, too.

"Don't worry; I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I promise I'll always have your back."

"Once I become Force Captain, I promise we'll free Etheria together!"

"No matter what, I'll follow you. I promise."

So many promises, and each one of them broken and scattered about the floor like the simulation bots at the end of training.

To be fair, Adora had broken her promises first. It only made sense that Catra had then broken hers.

Catra's hands curled into fists as she turned away from the once heartwarming scene. She wondered why it felt like something was breaking in her chest. It unleashed a torrent of pain, but as she walked further and further away, she felt it dulling into a lump of ache right in in her center. It probably didn't matter though.

Nothing mattered.

Catra walked down the hall in the direction she just knew Adora was.

At least she knew what she had to do now.

* * *

"Catra."

Catra flicked an ear in Adora's direction, but didn't look up from the report she was reading. It's not like she was under any obligation to. After all, they worked together because Catra knew that it was better to be on the Rebellion's good side since she and her comrades had left the Horde. Plus, she would use any fire power she had to stick it to Hordak and Shadow Weaver.

They were allies. Comrades in arms, but nothing more now. Catra wouldn't really call them friends anymore.

"Catra. I - I'm sorry."

Catra frowned at the paperwork and resisted an eye roll. How many time would Adora apologize to her? It's not like it even counted anyway; Adora always either didn't understand what she should be apologizing for or why she was apologizing in the first place. She still didn't get why Catra had been upset.

At this point, it was just frustrating.

"I'm sorry I broke our promise."

Catra froze.

"I'm - I've been thinking and I've apologized for so many things,but I - I never apologized for that. I was a terrible friend. And that was - that was the most important promise I ever made."

Catra slowly turned and studied Adora.

Adora fidgeted under her gaze, as she always did when truly scrutinized. Her hair was slightly frizzy, meaning she'd been running her hands through it and worrying. The redness around her eyes suggested that she was nearing tears or she had already cried recently.

Catra didn't say anything.

Adora stepped forward anyway.

"I want to make things up with you. I want to fix things between us. I want to be friends again." She walked closer and closer. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but - "

Adora stopped right in front of Catra and held out a trembling hand.

"From now on, I'll look after you and you'll look after me. As long as we have each other, as long as we watch each others' backs, I don't think anything truly bad can happen to us. So will you let me be there for you?"

Catra stared at the hand before shifting her gaze up to Adora, studying her once more.

"Once bitten, twice shy" was a common phrase and Catra was feeling it right now. Adora was right, she had no reason to trust her like this. Her trust, her faith, her heart, all of those had been broken by the girl in front of her.

But broken things could be fixed.

And here Adora was, a hand extended to connect the multiple pieces back together. It wouldn't be the same as before. Broken things never could truly go back to how they were originally, but they could at least be whole.

Catra knew that if she turned her down now, now that she finally figured things out, now that she finally said her real sorry, that there would be no going back. The broken pieces would shatter beyond repair. So it all came down to two questions:

Did Catra want to make things up with Adora?

Was this worth the risk of everything potentially breaking again?

Catra knew that she had already decided on her answers long ago.

Catra took Adora's hand, not looking her in the eye. "You promise?"

She didn't have to look up to know Adora was grinning. Adora used their connected hands to pull Catra into a hug. "I promise."

Catra closed her eyes, feeling that old warmth well up in her chest like it had never truly gone as she leaned into Adora. "Okay then."

Catra would risk everything once more on this one, final promise.

* * *

_AN: So with a prompt like this, I just had to take a look at the promise that breaks all our hearts. I highly doubt that was the only promise they made with each other, but it was probably the most important. Even if they are just friends, it's still heartbreaking. Friends can break your heart just as easily as romantic interests, and Adora really screwed up in this regard._

_I know both she and Catra had roles to play with making things how they are, but Adora broke their promise first and everything Catra did after that was a reaction to that. That's not really an excuse but it is an explanation to make it more understandable. And I actually do wonder if Adora even remembers it in the first place given what we know of Shadow Weaver's powers (which would also explain how she tended to gloss over Catra's treatment in those first few episodes especially). It's highly suspect that Catra was the only one to see their promise again, considering that that was what pushed her over the edge and made her push Adora over the edge._

_Though I don't know if it's due to Shadow Weaver's past meddling or Light Hope's more recent manipulation, since all of the memories shown were clearly there to drive a wedge between them, with them targeting Catra's volatile emotions and hurt especially._


End file.
